The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-07-02
WHAT DOES IT COST

tax question as lnvOlved In prOniol-
ton. They declare that the treasury
of the state will suffer such serious
loss by the suppression of the saloons
that taxes will have to be greatly In-
creased. By appeals of this SOFT they
seek to array the cupiiity of the tax
payers against the adoption of the
amendments proposed.
We will not at this time discuss the
merits Of IN argument whice places a
matter of taxation above the morals
Of the people, nor will we character
ize the baseness of man whe will
make or heed such sOrdid appeal.
We prefer to meet the issue upon the
low plane on which our opponents
stand and show, as we cnn easily do,
that the taxes paid by the saloons do
rot amount to as much MS the ex.
penses which are made necessary by
them.
We give the facts as they exist in
Tennessee, and venture to affirm the
case is not materially different IN Tex>
as. And since we have monopoly
of the argument we will deal gener.
ously by the opposition and give
them the benefit Of all doubts aud
margins. We can afford to UNDER
state our case.
What does the liquor interest pay
to the state of Tennessee annually :?
According to the last biennial report
of the Comptroller for the fiscal years
1884-86 the retailers paid to the state
$277, 1856 90, and the wholesale deal
ers paid S21, l12 so; making total
of $298, 98S.59. A committee ap-
pointed by the House Of Representa-.
tives to ascertain the number of liquor
dealers in tie state reported during
the last session of the Legislature
that there were at least 3,07l. II all
these paid the lawful tax the state
would derive from them al annual
revenue of not less than S350.00O.
But the liquor interest is lawless, and
defrauds the treasury Of more than
half the low taxes levied upon it. We
cannot credit them with what they
ought to pay under the law, hat only
with what they do pay-$29S, 1885,
so in two years.
What do open saloons cost the
state?
We cannot give the exact figures.
The official reports do not show how
much insanity, poverty, or crime is
attributable 10 intemperance. But
this may lie fairly estimated ii we
will accept the conclusions of ccmpe-
tent persons who have investigated
the subject and announced the per-
centage of these evils which is fairly
chargeahle to inehriety.
In 1870, when drunkenness was
not so prevalent as now, Sir Matthew
Hale said: "rhe places of judicature
/ have long held in this kingdom haze
given me an opportunity to observ,
the original cause of most of the enor'
mites that have been committed. fol
the space of nearly twenty years; ant
by due observation have found tina
| if the murders and manslaughters, tn,
burglaries and robheries, the riots anC
tumults, the adulteries, foundations
rapes, and other enormities that hav,
happened in that time, were divided
iuto five parts, four Of them have beef
the product of excessive drinking
of tavern or ale-house drinking.
Since then drunkenness and crim
have greatly increased, and LorC
Chief-iuslice Coleridge, the presen
supreme Judge Of England, quite re
Gently said 1T Bristol that "if the,
could make England sober, the,
could shut up nine tenth Of her pris
ons l." The testimony is to the sam
effect as to the facts in this country
The United States Commissioner O
Education said 10 his report for 1871
"That from so to gu per cent. of GU
criminals connect their courses o
crime with intemperance. OF tn
14,3l5 inmates of the Massachusett
prisons, 1896 are reported to hav
been Incorporate, or "a per cent. L
the New Hampshire prison 60 out 4
81 admit themselves to have been in
temperate. Reports from every stat,
, county. aud municipal prison in Con-
necticut, made in 1871, show tbs
more than 80 per cent. had been j
the habit of drinking" The state I
the case is much the same in Tenne'
, see. OF 357 couvicis examined i
the state prison at Nashville, $50 d.
clare that drink was the direct caus
! of their crime. From all these test
monies no fair man will accuse us {
extravagance when we say that ut III